



Class_£_ 

Book_ 

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COPYRIGHT DEPOSiX 























THE LIFE OF BABY 


ANIMALS 










































































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The LIFE OF BABY ANIMALS 

IN PICTURE STRIP 

GEORGE F. MORSE 

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Author oj My Life With Animals 

Former Director, Boston Zoo 

and 

DON NELSON 

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THOMAS S. ROCKWELL COMPANY 

CHICAGO 1930 

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Copyright, 1930, by 

THOMAS S. ROCKWELL COMPANY 

CHICAGO 


AUG -4 ; 33 0 

©ClA A 48335 


Printed in the United States of America 




Fascinating Babies 


I N NATURE there is one thing that 
never fails to hold the attention of 
grown-ups and children alike—Baby- 
Animals. Anyone who has ever visited 
a zoo or a circus remembers the crowd 
that continually surrounded the cage 
where a widened little baby monkey 
clung desperately to its mother—or the 
lion cub that awkwardly landed on his 
ear as he clumsily dashed after a wind¬ 
blown leaf. Even the sight of a litter 
of newly born domestic pigs brings forth 
exclamations of “Aren’t they just simply 
darling!” and “Too cute for words!” 


Taking advantage of this interest in baby 
animals, I thought that a picture book 
on the subject, accurately portraying 
little known but actual happenings in 
animal life, would have a double value—it 
would be both educational and amusing. 

I am sure my readers will agree that 
Don Nelson has caught, in his pictures, 
the spirit that animates these interesting 
babies in their every-day life of play and 
danger, of experiences so like those of 
human babies. 


George F. Morse 





The Tiny Kangaroo Baby 


When the baby kanga¬ 
roo was born he had no 
fur, and was blind. He 
was only as large as a 
peanut, but his mother 
stood four feet high. 


For seven months he lived 
in his mother's pouch. Fi¬ 
nally he put his head out 
and looked around at the 
great world about him* 
Then he crawled out. 


He would crawl out 
and play around some¬ 
times, but at the first 
sign of danger would 
jump back into the 
pouch again. 









Learns to Take Care of Himself 


His mother would lean 
back on her tail and fight 
off the wild dogs with her 
powerful hind legs if she 
thought they were trying 
to harm her baby. 


As he grew older he tested 
his strength by leaping and 
bounding over the bushes 
and ditches as kangaroos 
can easily do, with their 
long hind legs. 


But when his baby brother 
was born he had to learn to 
take care of himself, for his 
mother would cuff him 
away if he came too close 
and teased the new baby. 







The Playful Lion Cubs 


When the cubs were quite 
little they would leap at 
anything moving, just as 
kittens play with a leaf the 
wind blows about. 


Sometimes they would 
play the same way with 
their mother's tail as she 
watched them tumbling 
around on the ground. 


But if they were too rough 
and bit her tail too hard, 
she would lose her patience 
and warn them to stop by 
a slap from her big paw. 









Are Washed Like Other Babies 


One day one of the cubs 
found a nice fresh bone 
hidden in the grass and 
had a wonderful time 
growling over it. 


But his brother quarreled 
with him and while they 
were fighting one of his 
sisters crept up quietly and 
stole it away. 


When the rough play was 
over the mother would 
hold each cub down with 
her paw and clean them 
with her tongue. 







The 


The baby elephant was 
covered with fuzzy hair 
and weighed about two 
hundred pounds when he 
was born. 




Chunky Little Elephant 


Sometimes he would steal 
food from the other ele¬ 
phants, who did not dare 
to touch him if his mother 
was close by. 


One day his mother lost 
her patience with him and 
had to give him a smart 
slap with her trunk to 
make him behave. 















Has a Narrow Escape 


That day he stayed at the 
river, squirting water over 
his back and enjoying 
himself after the other ele¬ 
phants left. 


But a big tiger sprang out 
of the jungle where he was 
hiding and leaped on the 
baby elephant, who cried 
out for his mother. 


The mother heard the 
baby's squeals and rushed 
back, and she knocked the 
tiger to the ground with 
one blow of her greattrunk. 














The Spotted Baby Fawn 


The baby fawn was so 
awkward when it was 
born that it could 
hardly stand on its 
long legs. 


His mother would hide 
him under a bush where 
his white spotted coat 
looked like sunlight 
through the leaves. 


Sometimes a mountain 
lion would hide above the 
forest path, but the moth¬ 
er s keen scent would tell 
her of the danger in time. 












Is Saved by His Mother 


Once two wolves chased 
them, but the mother led 
the wolves away from the 
place where the fawn was 
safely hidden. 


When they were far from 
the fawn the mother 
turned on the wolves and 
killed one of them with her 
sharp hoofs. 


In the autumn they joined 
the rest of the herd and 
lived with them all winter, 
and by spring the fawn 
could take care of himself. 








The Little White Polar Bears 


The baby polar bears were 
born in a snow cave. They 
were only as big as a squir¬ 
rel and the mother hugged 
them close to her. 


When the snow melted in 
the spring they came out 
and had a good time play¬ 
ing with each other like 
little puppies. 


They took to the water 
like ducks, and no matter 
how cold it was their thick 
fur kept them warm while 
they were swimming. 



















Must Hunt for Their 

Soon they learned to catch Their mother tried to teach 

fish that were swimming them to crawl carefully 

near the ice cakes, by scoop- and quietly up to a seal 

ing them out of the water that was resting near a hole 

with their paws. in the ice. 



Food 


But they were so awkward 
and clumsy that when 
they jumped for the seal it 
got away by diving back 
into the water. 












The Fuzxy Wild Ducklings 


As soon as they came out of 
the eggs the ducklings 
rushed for the water and 
went swimming as if they 
had taken lessons for years. 


They soon learned that 
they must dive to the bot¬ 
tom of the pond to get 
most of their food out of 
the soft mud. 


The ducklings found that 
they had many enemies, for 
one day a large snapping 
turtle came up silently and 
pulled one of them down. 





















Grow Up and Fly to the South 


The brood of ducklings 
had other enemies too, for 
some of the large fish in the 
pond also tried to catch 
them. 


The mother duck had keen 
eyes and when she spied a 
hawk she would hurry 
them into the reeds where 
they would be safe. 


Finally when the cold 
weather came they were 
large enough to join the 
flocks that came flying by 
on their way to the south. 
















The Furry Fox Puppies 


The baby foxes were born 
in a den that the mother 
had dug in a steep hillside. 
It was warm and snug and 
hidden away from sight. 


Every morning they woke 
up at daylight and waited 
at the mouth of the burrow 
for the mother to bring 
their breakfast. 


When she came with a fat 
hen she had stolen from a 
farmer s coop they would 
snarl and growl over it 
while the mother watched. 















Must Hide While Their Mother Is Away 


If she heard something 
coming she would cry out 
to them and they would 
dash for the hole as fast as 
they could go. 


They would stay there un¬ 
til the mother came back 
and whined to them that 
the danger was over, and 
they could finish breakfast. 


When breakfast was over 
they had a nap and then 
would come out and play 
in the warm sun in front of 
the burrow. 


















The Baby Chimpanzee 


For the first two or three 
months after he was born 
the baby Chimpanzee 
spent his time clinging to 
his mother. 


If he climbed too far his 
mother would reach up 
and pull him back to a safe 
place beside her on the 
bough of the tree. 


He would pick up food 
and slyly put it into his 
mouth, but his mother 
would open his mouth to 
see what he was eating. 









Runs Away from His Mother 


One day he wandered 
away by himself and had a 
good time in the tree tops 
swinging about from one 
limb to another. 


But when he came to a 
great python coiled on a 
bough he rushed home 
as fast as he could go, chat¬ 
tering at a great rate. 


And then his mother 
spanked him as a warning 
not to get into trouble 
again by running so far 
away from home. 














The BrightTyed Little Raccoons 


One spring morning the 
baby raccoons put their 
heads out of the hollow in 
the big chestnut tree where 
they were born. 


Their first trip to the 
ground was a shaky one as 
they backed down the 
trunk clinging for dear life 
to the bark. 


The mother took them 
down to the brook and 
showed them how to catch 
the sly trout with a quick 
dart of her paw. 


















Are Taught to Wash Their Food 


As they walked down the 
bank the mother spied a 
steel trap in the water and 
carefully led her little 
babies around it. 


As they left the bank of the 
stream the mother pounced 
on a sleepy bird that did 
not get out of the way 
quickly enough. 


The youngsters took every 
bit of food down to the 
brook and washed it in the 
water, just the way the 
mother did. 








The Spotted Giraffe Baby 


Like his mother, the baby 
giraffe has a great long 
neck so he can feed on the 
tender buds in the tree tops. 


His long neck helped him 
to look a long way and spy 
out dangers like the lion 
creeping up in the grass. 


Every day the giraffes 
would go to the water hole 
to drink, sometimes with 
the other animals. 











Escapes from a Hungry Lion 


When the baby gi¬ 
raffe drank he had 
to spread his long 
legs wide apart. 


A lion was lying in wait 
for him one day and rushed 
at him just as he put his 
head down to drink. 


But the baby giraffe 
got to his feet, and 
his long legs soon 
carried him home. 









✓ 



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